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King for a Day, Revised Edition $19.95
Average Rating:4.9 / 5
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Joshua W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/31/2021 21:16:54

Did I just pay a 10er for a 400 page detail-fest full of meaning and plotlines? this could literally be the best deal on DTRPG.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/10/2018 05:37:48

An Endzeitgeist.com review

Note that the second half of this review has spoilers. Players should not read past the SPOILER WARNING below.

This mega-adventure clocks in at 304 pages if you take away editorial, credits, etc. – these are laid out in 6’’ by 9’’ (A5) – though that page-count is for this version. The adventure comes with a second version intended for e-readers, which not only is much smaller regarding file-size, but which also sports pages per screen; kudos there. I own the softcover PoD-version of this adventure, and my review is primarily based on this version. The pdf version also features something pretty crucial – a bonus pdf that comes with no less than 31 pages (!!) of handouts, including faction glyphs, regional maps in color and b/w (the latter with regions and rivers etc. noted), NPC roster cheat sheets, etc. – I strongly suggest getting the print + pdf version for this, since the PoD book LACKS these. King for a Day is a complex beast to run, and as such, this booklet is very much highly recommended/all but required.

Before I dive into the nit and grit of this book, let me thank profusely the reader who recommended this adventure to me; it would have flown under my radar otherwise.

Okay, so this is a system neutral mega-adventure sandbox, which comes with one selection of rules that deserve mention: There is a social combat-y/trust-mechanic that, while not bad in any way, is not required.

Genre-wise and regarding nomenclature, this mega-adventure sports an Anglo-Saxon theme that is reflected in societal structure, norms and nomenclature and takes place in remote Brycshire. The fantasy aspects of this adventure are rather subdued: While the adventure does feature gnolls and orcs, the humanoid nature of these beings are in no way required for the module’s internal logic or the like; as a result, you could play this as run in e.g. Greyhawk, or even our own world, in the latter case, replacing the humanoids with, for example, Picts, roving bandits or the like. The assumption is that of a low/rare magic environment, so expect no huge assortments of magical items, effects or the like – instead, this has a very gritty, old-world vibe and magic is intentionally rare and potent. Similarly, magic, when it does show up, is all the more striking.

That being said, while I’d usually recommend in such scenarios to write the humanoids out of it, here, I’d actually keep them in the module. There is a reason for this lies within the specific structure that is such an intrinsic part of what makes this mega-adventure stand out from others of its kind, but more on that later.

Now, if you have no idea regarding realities of the quasi Anglo-Saxon society this guns for, rest assured that the book explains societal structure, faith, pronunciation and more in detail; this includes notes on coinage, reputation, etc.; Oh, and this mega-adventure features over 200 NPCs.

No, I am not kidding you. And yes, they actually deserve that name, with basically everyone having things going on in one way or another. This is as close to a viable simulationalist attention to detail as you’re bound to come in published adventures, and in that, it does mirror the level of detail I tend to provide in my own games. This may seem daunting or overwhelming, particularly once you realize that, beyond the personal plot-lines, there is a time factor in the adventure, and there is more than one overarching plot-line. Furthermore, these plotlines, from the personal to the global level, tend to interact, diverge and converge. The book does something rather cool here, namely, provide glyphs to denote, at a glance, customization points, diverging and converging storylines, etc. Farms have names. People have lives. This is a super-impressive achievement as far as storylines and sheer plausibility are concerned. It also means that, in order to keep this review halfway informative, I can’t hope to talk about the highly modular structure of the myriad plotlines herein. I wouldn’t want to, anyways, as the module’s countless quests ultimately serve a truly astonishing purpose.

In another adventure, these details would be nice; in King for a Day, they are frickin’ VITAL and I’m exceedingly glad that they’re here. If this daunting scale on its own is not ample indicator for you, this is not an easy adventure/campaign to run – not by a long shot. There are few campaigns that demand as much skill and smarts from the GM/referee as this one, and fewer still that do so not by incompetence, but by daunting ambition. To make that abundantly clear: King for a Day is hard to run because of its ambition, complexity and attention to detail. It requires preparation and a good memory. Perhaps the only other campaign with such high demands on both GM and players would be EN Publishing’s Zeitgeist AP. Much like that saga, King for a Day does reward you for investing the time and effort. In spades.

There is one piece of advice I’d tell every GM/referee running this module: Don’t tell your players anything about it.

If you’re a player and want to play this adventure at one point, please do NOT continue to read. While I will not spoil the crucial point of this adventure, knowing anything about it will take away from its impact.

This is the BIG SPOILER WARNING.

..

.

Okay, only GMs/referees around? Great! King for a Day works because you do not know what it is. The setting presented is a lavishly-detailed, plausible region that would fit seamlessly in borderland- or borderland-adjacent regions in most regions; there are humanoids, there is faith, there are jaded, poor villagers and everything is a bit backwater, a bit jaded. PCs will chalk that up to the harsh nature of the region, its struggles, or sheer xenophobia. In short: We have an expertly-depicted place that most players will consider to be akin to something you’d see in Greyhawk, Raging Swan Press or Frog God Games supplements or in some other classic-style OSR-modules.

They’re oh so horribly wrong.

Now, the xenophobia and jaded nature of the folks, the gritty details of daily life and the various local struggles will make this feel, slowly, like a dark fantasy game without the grimdark elements or gore, but with plenty of anxiety and paranoia galore.

Once more, this is wrong. Intentionally so.

As the PCs investigate, for this IS an investigation, they will unearth wheels within wheels – nothing is as it seems, and this is also when the module begins its constant and detailed payoff, as the PCs start unearthing evidences of politicking and conspiracies, of cults and orders and ancient curses and crimes…and the hostility and gruff demeanor of the local populace takes on a sinister sheen. You see, King for a Day, in one of its central aspects, is the single best example of psychological and truly disturbing horror I have seen pulled off in a campaign. Without gore, without resorting to any of the classic tropes, it is a perfect example on how to make a slow-burn build-up work within a campaign. The more you play it, the more will its leitmotifs organically click into place…and the more isolated the PCs will feel.

We all know the trope: Heroes arrive, are treated badly, solve issues, become welcomed, celebrated even. Not so here. Instead, the PCs and players will find apathy, and since they will be unearthing hidden threads and plots, they will start questioning the motives of everyone – instead of making a new home, making new friends, the module does a superb job of depicting the experience of Brechtian estrangement on a cultural level; not only between PCs and NPCs, but also between NPCs. The PCs get to see the dissolution of the social contracts that bind us together as social animals; not due to violence or gore and blood-spatter, but because of apathy undermining everything. There is no easy enemy to fight, no cackling, mustache-twirling villain, nothing to slay.

This makes King for a Day one of the very few genuinely frightening adventures; to the point where the expected “truth” behind the proceedings, behind the strange behaviors, where the masterminds of the possible coup d’état (one of the complex, interwoven plotlines), where the ancient curses…all of that feels like a RELIEF. When the basically Cthulhu-mythos-inspired enemies show up, players will probably rejoice that they have something to slay; here, horror gives way to dark fantasy, to the familiar, to something that is quasi-Cthulhu-mythos/illithid-y, to Dagon being mentioned.

It’s a catharsis.

It’s a masterstroke of storytelling and the penultimate in a series of truly impressive subversions and thematic changes that is guided by the adventure, that is explicitly stated out for the GM/referee.

It’s the penultimate one, and for the final one, the author actually provides an excuse, explicitly states how it’s not how things need to go, but how things, for him, should go. This final twist even blows the previous one out of the water, transcending the line from comfy and familiar Mythos-Lovecraftiana to genuine, Lovecraftian horror. It’s in these few pages that all the psychological horror unearthed, all the catharsis achieved, once more coils up into a singular scene, one that amplifies the profound, intellectual anxiety and desperation, the genuine HORROR in one catch-phrase.

One that is horrific on its own, but which is vastly outclassed by the truth behind it, by the vast and truly unfathomable. Dagon is a Lie. Even this simple sentence is nothing but a prelude, a final undermining of truths unearthed. The finale beyond that phrase is much more horrifying and genuinely transcends anything I have seen in a horror module to this date, presenting the most efficient, powerful and stunning conclusion to an adventure I have read, providing a singularity of purpose and theme where all the aspects of this vast adventure congeal together into something that genuinely and profoundly left me rattled. Then, I actually clapped. A smile stole onto my face. This is the single best ending this probably could have had.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting aren’t perfect; I noticed quite a few glitches and typos herein; I’d consider the book to be “still good” in that category, though barely. Layout adheres to a 1-column b/w-standard in the pdfs, while in the PoD-version, the only color images are those of advertisements in the back; the borders of the page have bluish borders; here, color-coding could have helped structure the book further. As noted, the pdfs have no bookmarks, which is SUPER-jarring for a tome of this size. The handout-booklet and cartography in both full color and b/w are amazing, particularly the b/w-map of the final location, presented as a player-friendly version, is great. Unfortunately and much to my chagrin, this pdf is NOT included in the print book, not can you purchase a poster map version of a physical version of the handout booklet, which, once more, is just jarring. I expected these to be included in the print version, which imho needn’t be full-color inside, considering that the great, if sparse artworks, are b/w. In short: Get both PoD and pdf, and get ready to print the handouts.

Jim Pinto’s “King for a Day” was recommended by one of my readers; in the highest praises. I did shrug, bought it and there it sat; I kept reading it, made notes, and only slowly did it dawn on me how exceedingly effective this module is; how SMART it is. On a formal level, King for a Day is deeply flawed. The print version’s lack of maps, the pdfs with their lack of bookmarks – there are some serious comfort detriments here that render using this harder, rougher than it ought to be.

In fact, this is pretty much a bit like “Demon Souls” back in the day in its rough and somewhat clunky handling; no one had an idea what was going on, how it worked, and it required work; it took hardcore, skilled folks to use, and then, slowly revealed its brilliance, its genius. King for a Day is a clunky, slightly abrasive, tough nut to crack that requires an expert GM/referee to pull off. Cthulhu dark age, LotFP, weird old-school (à la Midderlands, Wormskin, etc.), Greyhawk – it doesn’t matter: Do you want to challenge your players as well as their PCs? Do you consider immaculately structured, smart and plausible scenarios a joy? Do your players demand your A-Game as a GM/referee? Do you enjoy sandboxes that deserve the name? Do you want a sandbox that sports diverse, modular and complex plotlines, you know, not just “kill xyz”-stuff, but storylines that are worth the moniker? That truly are MODULAR, where the PCs and their actions matter? Well, this massive monstrosity delivers all of that, and more, in spades.

If I were to rate this solely on its accessibility, on its formal criteria, etc., I’d consider this, at best, a 3.5 stars-book; if the like is really important for you, then please take note of that. However, the content, ambition, prose, execution and clever concept underlying everything here make this a true and distinguished masterpiece, one of the hidden gems out there; this can provide potentially years of gaming, will keep even the most efficient groups occupied for at least a couple of months, and ranks as one of the smartest mega-adventures/campaigns I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

If you even remotely like smart, dark material and want to flex your GM/referee-muscles, then consider this to be a must-have recommendation. I was, even after having read literally thousands of adventures, floored by this. Even with its pronounced flaws and imperfections, this is 5 stars + seal of approval, the type of out-of-left-field recommendation that makes reviewing amazing.

Reviewed first on endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted here, on OBS, etc.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Dave C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/19/2017 09:44:27

I've never bothered to 'formally' review anything I've read in RPGs in the 30+ years that I've been gaming. "King For A Day" seeks to change that apparently - because this setting deserves to be talked about more than it is.

I am, personally, a devotee of the OSR and a number of indie press games - this transcends my little niche and has the potential to work for any referee/gamemaster who doesn't mind getting the dirt of worldbuilding under their nails.

All the reviews address the expansiveness of this setting - a regional sandbox, full of early medieval social malaise, hidden agendas, fractured hopes and dreams washing away in contaminated streams - and an evil that defies it's own definition, despite the illusion creating its own deceptive shadows over a slowly crumbling society.

"King For A Day" (KfaD) is the proverbial onion, layers peeling away until you're at the rotten core. Everything seems so consistent within the implied setting, an Anglo-Saxon backwater mining, farming, and logging community. I can't help but feel, despite the late heathen era trappings of the 9th-10th centuries, that this is later than that. Maybe it's the organizational aspects of society, but they seem a bit more modern - especially in the backwash soil of the surroundings. It lends to the air of timelessness which gives this connection, for me, to that dreamlike, yet nefarious, folkloric menace (Folk Horror?). 



As other reviewers have said, this could easily be adapted across time periods - I'm considering a fantasy Renaissance/Baroque/Early Modern retelling myself. The nature of most of the social issues, from ineffectual undermined leadership to brain washing, have a certain ability to speak through many different ages. It would have been easy to make the populace monotheistic and pious - but, the more I dwell on it, it just drives the universal point home by not relying on that trope of ‘heathen roots’ vs. ‘zealots of "One True God’ dichotomy (the friction is still there though, but it seems to gain some level of unfamiliar shaky foundation which benefits the storylines).

It amazes me that more authors haven't tried their hands at writing a system neutral sandbox - some of the OSR releases have done this for retroclones, but KfaD shirks any attempt at being that narrow. The fact that it is not only devoid of rules preference, but bucks RPG genre expectations, is unique. A historically rooted horror fantasy setting with political-social-religious overtones? Very damned ambitious, and remarkable in its ability to not fall flat on its face doing it.

The most lamentable part of KfaD is in its editing and layout - there are numerous typos, all minor, and a nagging feeling that the book could be better organized for the table - more so in print form (the bookmarks in the PDF are extensive and useful). The art is very light for such an ambitious project and I'd love to see a hex map of the region for crawling (personally, I have a .PNG hexgrid I'm dropping on it). Most of the art is good, when it is present - I would love to see this expanded (Kickstarter? Indiegogo?) through thematically inspired renderings of personalities and landscapes. There are a number of 'cut and paste' text portions, especially concerning NPCs, repeated throughout the book that could be trimmed.

I think that for those who intend to use this it is wise to devote a large binder or multiple binders to the material (or use a computer based campaign organizer). I recently found a handful of mini binders that will be perfect for NPC sheets or area map/descriptions. Random tables of encounters for the towns wouldn't hurt, but I can certainly understand the difficulty as individuals will run this module very differently from each other, as it is meant.

Some of the comparisons I came to when reading this were early LotFP publications - and, more specifically, "People of Pembrooktonshire" and "Three Brides...". I had considered those particular publications by Raggi to be a possible basis for a campaign, but KfaD doesn't push the weird as hard into the open - allowing that 'slow burn' to consume everything, quietly and thoroughly. I could see easily uniting NPCs from both, effectively adding more layers of distraction to either side - whilst downplaying the marginally sub-dermal Pembrooktonshire ‘everything is not right’ insanity. After reading KfaD, my current campaign preparations started to wane as I became totally engrossed with this little out of the way hellmouth.

This isn’t for everyone. There is a lot of upfront campaign creation work to be done - which I think is the best way to digest this much material. You have to follow all the strings and tie together the parts to suit player and system. This is a dark fantasy horror setting with a twist of Lovecraft - suspense and friendly nihilism. I think ambitious OSR game referees will find this especially useful - especially with games like “Lamentations of the Flame Princess" or “Astonishing Sorcerers and Sword Men of Hyperboria". Bordered with the Dolmenwood setting from “Wormskin”, this would be a tasteful ‘Wyrd Folk Horror’ “Labyrinth Lord” as well. 2e edition fans of the “HR” series could tear this up with Vikings and Charlemagne era rules. Cthulhu Dark Ages is a natural fit, but something of a giveaway to the mystery behind the suspense.

Despite its flaws and workload, I think “King For A Day” presents a noble offering towards universal fantasy settings - a product description too often unexplored.

This setting doesn’t jump scare, it undermines your minuscule reality with unfathomable creeping doom.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Stephen R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/12/2016 22:26:27

If you think adventures should be straightforward monster bashes, this is not for you.

But, if you like well thought out, detailed settings, with lots of options and ideas and POSSIBILITIES, King For A Day checks all those boxes. I can't wait to build a new Harn campaign around it!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Jeff I. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/25/2015 14:36:20

Disclaiming preamble: I know the author, we’ve worked together and I consider him a friend. I still proudly bought this product; it was not a promo copy.

The product page has a description, so you already know you’re getting a monster book with hundreds of NPCs, dozens of intersecting plotlines and a sandbox campaign area to explore. What you need to know is it for you and your group. I can help with that.

Let me start by saying I didn’t know I wanted this, or that it even existed. I went trolling social media for a big, meaty campaign to run D&D 5e through, as there was little official material at the time (note this campaign is system-neutral with no rules). As 5e is more about story then rules, I loosened my restrictions and was eventually lead to King for a Day. When I got it, it appeared overwhelming. It is a huge volume or work, and contains a ton of useful, entertaining information.

And that’s the key. Once I started reading (and I didn’t right away) I couldn’t stop. Even when comparing the best adventures some can play well but not all read well. There is so much mystery and juicy bits to process I always had a notepad and pen with me while reading because I would have questions, sometimes write my own answers, and just jot down encounters that came it me. The writing is inspirational, and never preachy. So, like a good book, I always wanted to know more.

Do you want a challenge as a DM? This is it. It’s not for the weak of heart but for those that aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and do some work to make it their own. I needed to make encounter tables, cross-reference the NPCs to ensure I knew which ones were connected to others, and pick out the monster and NPC stats I wished to use (there are cheat-sheets included with the campaign grouping the NPCs by group and region with a space for notes). I’m on my 12th session, and it is easily worth all the time I invested. You’ll get out of it what you put in. The players, all gaming veterans, admit this is one of the creepiest, unique campaigns they’ve ever played.

Do you want to REALLY challenge you players, a dedicated lot who’ve come to expect the best from you? Those types of players deserve this. It doesn’t hand –hold them through it. It doesn’t lead them by the nose, and for the love of Pete it is NOT an “adventure path”. It’s all sandbox. It gives you all the tools you need (the ingredients if you will) to play out a big, detailed campaign with horrifying foes, then gives some suggestions on how to cook and serve it, but it never gives you the actual recipe, that’s up to you.

Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a very strong and compelling story to the campaign, it’s up to you and your players how it plays out. There are dozens and dozens of specific locations detailed and yet there is still plenty of room to drop in your own encounters so you can run it with monsters or just orcs and goblins and the like. Want to run it low-magic and gritty? Great. Want to allow magic and play more traditional? There’s advice for that too. Anything the players want to do is allowed, any NPC they want to interact with, befriend or kill, it’s their game.

The best part is I recall the genesis for this entire work. The author had asked me years before to suggest to him a campaign to run old-school D&D players through. I suggested “The Night Below” by TSR, a huge campaign that gave good memories. The author here has reimagined it, reworked the horror and social consequences, and turned up the creepy factor through the roof. In short, if you liked The Night Below, you’ll be very pleased to see it done, in my opinion, way more justice in King for a Day.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by John W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/17/2015 01:01:24

This is an excellent product. This is a system neutral sandbox. It has several plots, a good cast of npcs, and a GREAT setting. Seriously the land of Brycshire is highly emotive and memorable.

This will form the basis for a memorable campaign.

On a plus the author is really awesome.

There are some negatives. The setting being so unique and remote it will be hard to weave other published tales into the campaign. Second whilst the npcs have their relationships described very few leap off the page and play themselves, you either need to plan them, or be very quick on your feet to play them. My last point is locating information in this book can be hard. There is no index and I've been grateful for the pdf a number of times.

It is still an awesome adventure much better than 99% of them out there.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Jason W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/12/2014 17:57:51

Wow! What an amazing product! This sucker is brimming with info on a valley ripe for adventure. There are dozens upon dozens of interesting locales, hundreds of NPCs with hooks and probably nearly 40 plot threads. And the author takes the time to link them all together in an organic, sandbox fashion. He even came up with a system of symbols to indicate when certain things can be triggered, when the intersect each other, or when there is a new stage of an ongoing event.

Don't expect, however, to sit down and be able to take it all in at once. Despite that exact warning in the intro, I found myself really excited as I read about the local environment (it is described in wonderful and colorful detail) ... then confused. What the hell were the PCs SUPPOSED to do?!? Then it hit me. They aren't SUPPOSED to do anything!

This entire setting has hundreds of possibilities of adventure, but nothing MUST be done. Nor is any NPC is considered untouchable. I've always heard sandboxes are hard to write. After seeing this, I can see why. This puppy is dense, but man is it good.

If you are looking for the mini-novellas that the popular adventure paths are, you might find yourself disappointed. My group though has never been able to finish one because as great as they are with an exciting campaign hook, we ultimately find them to rigid for player agency. If you like sandboxes, however, you owe it to yourself to take a look at this one!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by James B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/05/2014 16:18:51

Since Jason has already written a comprehensive review on this product, and I do not disagree with what he has said, I will tackle a different aspect of the setting that I am very impressed with. Horror is an extremely difficult genre to master as most fantasy players tend not to be horrified by the idea of something that they can swing a sword at, or zap with a lightning bolt it takes planning and care to pull off a good suspense adventure. Monsters and the situations they are in become matters of mathmatics and overused tropes that are present in nearly all fantasy sword and sorcery games. Mr. Pinto has presented this adventure in such a way that it makes the job of approaching suspense much easier to accomplish, even for GMs who are not as familiar with this type of game. I have several other publications of Mr. Pinto and have come to expect quality material from him, but King for a Day is a jewel among the gold coins.

I would also add, that this setting lends itself extremely well to low fantasy game play, and game systems such as Harn or even GURPS mesh well with the presentation. That doesn't exclude high fantasy gameplay, but I think low fantasy really shines here and I appreciate Mr. Pinto breaking away from the standard FRPG tropes that assume such a playstyle. Buy this, you will not regret it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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King for a Day, Revised Edition
Publisher: post world games
by Jason S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/27/2013 00:57:56

To date, this is the single best value in a campaign setting I've seen yet for a system-free product. King for a Day is 312 pages of awesome, creepy horror.

Set in a grim and gritty backwater campaign area with little to no magic and the tension set to 11, the entire setting is in a vaguely defined valley called Brycshire that could be easily plugged in to anyone’s low magic version of (or location within) Pathfinder, D&D or other fantasy adventure RPG. Jim says Harn would be perfect.

I honestly couldn't find much to complain about here in the material. A little more in the intro than we needed maybe, but easily forgiven with the sheer amount of people, places and plots alone.

Chapter 1 begins with a basic overview and a how-to-use-this that is helpful primarily with its caveat that “This campaign is dense.” There is truly a TON of information, tips, guidelines and a clever icon system to indicate plot points (plot triggers, overlapping story lines, etc). I couldn't possibly go over every combination of plot lines, the main “heart of King for a Day” consists of 4 separate story lines and there are 13 listed with one broken out into 3 parts. With a lot of meaty ideas for story lines that lead to the finale, and a slew of NPCs, there’s a lot here to base a campaign on, or inject a new horror edge to an existing campaign of low magic/low fantasy style.

Chapter 2 covers the adventure setting, with sections on maps, structure, triggers, locations, resources, religion, magic etc… I won’t list them all but that’s just chapter 2. I read this entire adventure setting twice and there’s no way I can digest it all in one sitting. I can’t criticize an over-abundance of material either, because although it’s not all essential, it’s all potentially useful and relevant. (And good!)

Chapter 3 deals with the world environment, faith, culture and other aspects including seasons. Love seeing info on weather and seasons. Thoroughly detailed, but easy to disregard if unneeded.

Chapter 4 could possibly be one of the most valuable piece of this puzzle. It’s a chapter on psychological horror and its manifestations such as dehumanization, destabilization, gas lighting and mid control. Some of my favorite parts of this campaign setting is that there is material here that will influence my game play and writing long after I’ve ever run the setting/adventure as a GM.

Chapter 5 is all about social interaction. Although this is a system-free product, there is actually a system in this product. It’s a unique way of resolving social interactions using d6 and a point-based system. I wont describe all the details of how it works, but it’s pretty simple and is another thing I think many people can carry over into their other games and campaigns. Rolling the d20 for a diplomacy check to bribe the gate guard is not role-playing, this little invention of Jim’s is a neat way to incorporate both more dice rolling to resolve a conflict but more importantly there’s more role play opportunity as a result of those rolls.

Chapter 6 is all about Brycshire proper and is extensive. Landscape, economics, living conditions, keeps, caves, tunnels and more stuff is all covered in this section.

Chapter 7 Dramatis Personae is just that, the people of the setting, listed A through W. It’s quite a list, there are almost 200 characters, per page 9. I didn’t try to count them all, sorry. From Dagon, a main character of the campaign to all the various lords, ladies, dupes and deceivers, there are enough NPCs here to draw on for a long time even if you never used the story!

Chapter 8 is Story Lines and all the ways they might interact to really creep the hell out of some players, if that’s what you’d like. The horror focus and the creep factor are heavy in this whole package but you really get the feel for it when reading the story lines. Murder, madness, paranoia, poison… lots of nasty stuff and ill intent. Sleepy village meets mad illusion.

Chapter 9 is the finale. I won’t spoil anything, but the weirdness level is high and the GM who decides to lead his players (aware or not) into this trove of deception could do a terrible job of using the material provided here. However, a GM could also create a magnificently horrible and terrifying set of stories from this product.

I can’t wait to see Jim release the item he mentioned, “Jeweled Capital of Emerald Fireballs”! Hold your breath for that one!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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